The first round of the 2023 BTCC was pretty challenging for the whole Toyota Gazoo Racing UK squad. We were uncharacteristically off the pace in dry conditions on Saturday and were struggling to break into the top ten. With Ricky qualifying 10th, myself in 13th and George in 17th, we were left scratching our heads!
The rain on Sunday was a welcome surprise and despite lacking the outright pace in the first of three races, we definitely made progress across the race day in terms of car balance. I really struggled in Race 1 and could only manage 11th overall. We were unfortunate to go a lap down in Race 2 after being held behind a red light when trying to rejoin the track after pitting for wet tyres mid race. Then in Race 3 I ran wide at the Old Hairpin dropping me down to 21st place, before recovering through the field to finish in 11th.
It definitely wasn’t our weekend and at times it felt like the cards were stacked against us. Despite the lack of results I can draw many positives from our first event. We scored points in all three races, we managed to improve our situation across the weekend, the new engine package showed great potential and most importantly the car is in one piece, ready for Brands Hatch this weekend!
Our focus is now firmly on Round 2 of the championship this Sunday. The hard work hasn’t stopped since Donington and we aim to make steps forward after a slow start to the year.
